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The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has recently launched a new call center to provide much-needed assistance to workers facing labour-related challenges. This dedicated resource aims to offer support, information, and guidance to both members of COSATU-affiliated unions and unorganized workers, ensuring that they have a place to turn for help with workplace issues.

COSATU Limpopo and Communications Workers Union call for SABC probe

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) in Limpopo supports its Affiliate, the Communications Workers Union (CWU), as it calls for an investigation into the dismissals of workers at the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC).

COSATU in Limpopo led a mass picket outside the SABC provincial offices in Polokwane on the last Friday of April, against increasing unfair labour practices including the purging of outspoken union representatives, and the failure to adhere to occupational health and safety regulations.

COSATU Young Workers, ANC Youth League, SACP, SANCO, SASCO and other progressive civil society organisations joined the picket.

Workers at the public broadcaster are aggrieved following the dismissal of CWU shop stewards who were vocal about issues impacting workers at the state-owned broadcaster. Central to workers’ grievances are issues of remuneration that track as far back as 2019, when the SABC implemented a three-year wage freeze following Section 189 retrenchments.

In October 2022, workers received a R18 000 once-off non-pensionable payment which the corporation implemented despite labour opposition. Salary negotiations got underway the next year, and a 6% pensionable salary increase agreement was reached in October 2023, but the employer refused to backdate the increase to April as per convention. COSATU intervened and involved government; an agreement was brokered wherein the SABC, and labour unions would continuously monitor the financial status of the organisation and ensure the backpay was paid when the organisation could afford to. However, the monitoring was never done, the SABC opted to pay only 50% of the backpay and to date workers are still owed the remainder.

The 2024 salary negotiations stalled and although the CCMA was called in to facilitate, no agreement was reached, and workers still haven’t received an increase. The 2025 salary negotiations were due to start in April but there’s been dead silence. Shop stewards who have dared to raise the issue with management have been dismissed for gross misconduct.

SABC Polokwane employees have also raised the alarm on health and safety issues lamenting a sewage odour in the corridors of the provincial offices; decades-old carpets that are causing workers to suffer severe sinus conditions; and the broken air-conditioning in the newsroom.

A memorandum of demands was handed over, giving provincial management 14 days to respond. Failure to respond will kickstart rolling mass action nationally and bring the SABC to a standstill.

COSATU in Limpopo stands 100% behind SABC workers and calls on the employer to urgently attend to their grievances and reinstate the purged shop stewards with immediate effect or face reinforced mass action.

Issued by COSATU Limpopo

Hangwani Mashao (Provincial Secretary)

Mobile: 076 205 6704

OR

Zanele Sabela (National Spokesperson)

Mobile: 079 287 5788 / 077 600 6639

Email: zaneles@cosatu.org.za